I, A Loyal Dog, Awaken to My Fate as Cannon Fodder - Chapter 28

The engagement banquet prepared by the Cheng family was extravagant and luxurious, held at a famous hotel in A City that had been entirely booked for the occasion.

Shen Yinan arrived at Cheng Wanqiu’s engagement banquet dressed in a suit, elegantly holding a glass of red wine in her hand, looking as if she were the true protagonist of this celebration.

“Shen Yinan, you finally showed up. I thought you wouldn’t dare,” Luo Yejun said. His face had been haggard these past few days, but that didn’t stop him from curling his lips into a mocking smile.

Shen Yinan was just thinking: Finally, you’re here.

As someone not fond of socializing, she had been surrounded by a group of elderly entrepreneurs asking all sorts of questions. Now that an acquaintance had finally appeared, she was going to fleece him for all he was worth.

“What is there to be afraid of? I’ve been with the eldest miss for so long; it would be quite disrespectful not to show up.”

She spoke with such righteousness that it made Luo Yejun appear petty.

“You…” Remembering how he had disgraced his uncle last time, Luo Yejun restrained his temper and lowered the finger he was pointing at Shen Yinan. “Fine, fine, fine. Shen Yinan, shouldn’t you prepare some words of blessing?”

There was nothing more satisfying than demanding a blessing from a competitor.

Shen Yinan remained calm and composed, her face showing not a hint of indignation. “I prepared them long ago.”

She held her red wine and took a step forward, her eyes gazing deeply at the stage, seemingly trying to look through the stage to the person behind it.

“I wish the Miss a life of happiness, fulfillment, peace, and longevity.”

“What about mine? Why are you only blessing Cheng Wanqiu and not me? Oh, would doing so make you feel very uneasy?”

Anyone with eyes could see that this Young Master Luo, the future son-in-law of the Cheng family, was targeting the head of the Shen family.

His behavior was a bit petty.

Most of the elderly entrepreneurs surrounding Shen Yinan had likely experienced similar humiliations in their youth, and they empathized deeply with her. Many of them showed expressions of disgust toward Luo Yejun.

“Shen Yinan, where is my blessing?” Luo Yejun pressed on aggressively, his momentum rising.

Shen Yinan kept her eyes fixed on the stage, her face full of melancholy.

If it came to acting, Shen Yinan was not inferior to Luo Yejun.

“Enough. Why must you, Young Master Luo, be so aggressive here? Is every guest who comes here required to give you a blessing?” an middle-aged entrepreneur, whose hair was combed neatly with pomade, said with a frown.

Luo Yejun panicked. “No, that’s not it.”

He simply wanted to humiliate Shen Yinan.

Shen Yinan…

Looking back at Shen Yinan, Luo Yejun’s eyes widened.

How could this person act so well? She was like a pitiful “little white flower.”

“Shen Yinan, you—”

“What about her? What else do you want from her?”

Listening to the voices around her arguing on her behalf, Shen Yinan couldn’t help but tilt her head up at a 45-degree angle to look at the ceiling.

Her eyes filled with tears that threatened to fall but were stubbornly held back.

“I’m sorry, Young Master Luo… I…”

I’m about to burst out laughing, was what Shen Yinan actually wanted to say.

Dealing with such a fool required no effort at all; she just had to dig a hole and he would jump right into it.

However, she had mentioned last time that she would give Luo Yejun a grand gift, and she had long since prepared it.

Listen—the sounds of discussion around them were growing louder.

“Isn’t that the murderer? I heard he was the one who killed his roommate.”

“Tsk tsk, he has violent tendencies. Such a person is very dangerous; I definitely wouldn’t let my daughter jump into that fire pit.”

“Who knows, he might kill his own wife if he gets upset. It’s truly bad luck to encounter someone like that.”

Shen Yinan hadn’t done much; she simply had some people stir up the public opinion.

Old Master Cheng could not stand others gossiping about the Cheng family, and Luo Yejun was considered half a Cheng family member.

“This Luo Yejun, he’s caused trouble again,” Cheng Xian muttered backstage, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.

Logically, since this was an engagement banquet, no one would bring up Luo Yejun’s filthy past unless someone was intentionally leading the narrative.

Cheng Xian did not yet know who was so bold and meticulous, nor what their purpose was.

When Cheng Xian walked out from backstage to Luo Yejun’s side and saw the scene with Shen Yinan, he had a moment of sudden realization.

Everything now had a cause.

“Old Master Cheng,” Shen Yinan said, reining in her performative emotions and nodding politely without being subservient.

She caught a glimpse of admiration flashing in Cheng Xian’s eyes as he looked at her.

Cheng Xian admires her, Shen Yinan concluded.

It was only a fleeting look; soon, the scrutinizing gaze on Shen Yinan disappeared.

She then heard Cheng Xian’s warning to Luo Yejun.

Because she was standing close to Luo Yejun, she could hear Cheng Xian’s whispered words.

“Yejun, today is Wanqiu’s engagement banquet,” Cheng Xian said, his voice low and his eyes piercing Luo Yejun like daggers. “Behave yourself.”

Hearing these words, Shen Yinan’s mind raced through a thousand thoughts, discerning the implications in Cheng Xian’s phrasing.

Cheng Xian didn’t say, “Your and Wanqiu’s engagement banquet,” but rather, “Wanqiu’s engagement banquet.”

That meant the position of the Cheng family’s ideal son-in-law was being shifted to someone truly worthy of the title.

Knowing the wisdom of saying less, Shen Yinan said nothing more after greeting Cheng Xian. However, the corners of her mouth showed a slight tendency to turn upward.

The middle-aged entrepreneur lifted his chin, looking indignant. “Old Master Cheng, this junior of yours has a terrible personality. You should pay more attention to teaching your juniors how to conduct themselves in the future.”

“Yes, yes,” Cheng Xian replied, then changed the subject. “However, Yejun is not a member of my Cheng family. He is the son of an old friend who had nowhere to stay after returning to the country, so he stayed with us.”

Clever as he was, Cheng Xian was an old fox who always managed to distance himself cleanly from any scandal.

No one present was a fool. If this Young Master Luo wasn’t a member of the Cheng family…

Hearing this, everyone in attendance couldn’t help but wonder: who would the future husband of the Cheng family’s eldest miss be?

“Shen Yinan, it’s been a long time since you saw Wanqiu, hasn’t it? Go backstage to see her.”

One must realize that even Luo Yejun had not been permitted to see Cheng Wanqiu.

Without overthinking it, Shen Yinan agreed without hesitation: “Yes, Old Master Cheng.”

I really underestimated Shen Yinan before. This child has been by my side all along, and yet I didn’t know I had such a sharp blade under my command.

Not bad, not bad.

Cheng Xian praised her inwardly.

To get Cheng Wanqiu, she did not hesitate to reveal her true colors and stop hiding her brilliance.

On the surface, she was simple and ignorant of the world’s evils. But once the mask was stripped away, she was a controller of the entire situation, playing with people’s hearts with absolute precision.

Shen Yinan’s teeth were chattering; her nerves were alight with excitement.

She had forgotten one very important thing: how she was supposed to face Cheng Wanqiu.

The matter of the five million was something Shen Yinan felt she owed Cheng Wanqiu, but Cheng Wanqiu also owed her.

She wasn’t a pet that could be bought back with money.

However, Cheng Wanqiu’s money had indeed been spent.

She owed Cheng Wanqiu a massive debt, and Cheng Wanqiu owed her an explanation.

As she was about to step into the backstage area, she paused.

“It’s enough to keep the beautiful memories of the past; we don’t need to continue developing things.”

After saying this, Shen Yinan took a fearful step back.

“Shen Yinan.”

The voice was light as a feather, drifting over and landing on her heart.

Suddenly, the person who had been called stopped in her tracks, but there was no response, nor did she turn her head.

Shen Yinan wanted to say: “Miss, you have the wrong person.”

But if she said that, her voice would give her away immediately.

Never mind. She had come today to help Cheng Wanqiu deal with the problem of the yandere male lead. She was acting from the perspective of an observer helping Cheng Wanqiu, with a clear conscience.

“Cheng…” Shen Yinan turned around, originally intending to call Cheng Wanqiu by her name, but found that she simply couldn’t do it in her presence.

Swallowing those three characters, Shen Yinan spoke again, calling out: “Miss.”

Shen Yinan’s inner thoughts: Why is it that even after breaking the master-servant relationship, she is still full of fear and awe toward Cheng Wanqiu, only daring to call her ‘Miss’?

As clever as she was, she was being held firmly in a grasp she couldn’t escape.

Cheng Wanqiu looked solemn, very grave, and spoke with great sincerity: “Shen Yinan, let’s elope!”

Huh?

Looking at Cheng Wanqiu’s serious face, Shen Yinan found it somewhat amusing.

Shen Yinan suppressed the confusion that was about to surface and felt a playful urge.

She cleared her throat and asked, “Is the Miss willing to give up everything of the Cheng family to elope with me? To wander the streets with me and sleep under bridge tunnels?”

Cheng Wanqiu’s gaze was firm. “I am!”

“As long as I am with you, I am willing!”

“And what about having no guarantee of your next meal if you stay with me in the future? Are you willing?”

“Of course I am!”

“Will you do physical labor for the rest of your life, washing dishes in restaurants, and working hard without complaint forever? Are you willing?”

“I am!”

Cheng Wanqiu had no idea that the dream she found so strange had changed Shen Yinan immensely.

If not for that dream, Shen Yinan would still be unable to forget the past and would be unable to rid herself of her lowly status.

Shen Yinan also didn’t expect that the sudden influx of real memories in her mind would subtly influence her.

The trajectory of her life had changed completely.

“So, Shen Yinan, elope with me.”

Without a second thought, Shen Yinan flatly refused. “No, I will not elope with you, Miss.”

She wanted to receive everyone’s blessings honorably.

She wanted Luo Yejun to watch as she and Cheng Wanqiu became the happiest couple!

“I’m leaving now, Miss.”

“Why…” Cheng Wanqiu lowered her head, whispering softly.

Her eyes filled with tears, and a hot tear splashed onto the ground.

She felt she had nothing now; her future fate was to be arranged to marry someone she didn’t like, wasting her life away in a daze.

Shen Yinan walked away decisively, without stopping or looking back for even a moment.

With her heart seemingly dead from grief, Cheng Wanqiu became completely numb. Her arms hung powerlessly at her sides, and she looked utterly listless.

If she knew that one minute later, happiness would arrive, and she would be with Shen Yinan without having to elope… she would have screamed with excitement immediately.

Shen Yinan watched from below as Cheng Wanqiu stepped onto the stage, noticing the tear stains on her face, which made her feel an indescribable pang of distress.

The only gamble was whether Old Master Cheng would choose her or Luo Yejun.

“Let me introduce my niece’s future partner…” Cheng Xian said into the microphone.

The audience fell silent. The atmosphere wasn’t just quiet; it was thick with tension.

To Luo Yejun, the victory was his. He couldn’t hide the smile on his face, and he even shot a provocative look at Shen Yinan beside him.

“Shen Yinan, go find a place to cry,” he whispered to himself.

Shen Yinan’s expression remained calm. A true winner doesn’t show a hint of their successful scheme until the answer is final.

The person on stage announced the name of Cheng Wanqiu’s future partner: “Shen Yinan.”

Hearing this, Luo Yejun was about to cheer, but then the realization hit him.

Cheng Xian had said Shen Yinan, not Luo Yejun.

“Young Master Luo, welcome to the engagement banquet for me and the Miss.”